Nora friends were the central focus of yesterday’s assembly at Aspen Elementary. The event was a culmination of activities throughout the year in which students got to build friendships with Nora friends. In a video, students expressed how much they learned through their friendships and how they came to understand that our differences make us special and connect us in a special way. Since its founding in 2016, The Nora Project, a non-profit organization, has grown from six classrooms to eighty-five, with teachers challenging students to practice empathy, exercise moral courage, and recognize the fundamental truth that as human beings, we are all more alike than different.

Ms. Pogachnik’s fifth-grade class at Aspen Elementary had their second visit with their Nora Project friends on Thursday. The Nora Project aims to normalize difference, demystify disability and promote meaningful connections between students and their peers with disabilities.

Elementary South and Aspen Elementary’s fourth and fifth grade band concert on Tuesday showed just how far students have come this year. They played beautifully.

As part of the Nora Project, two Elementary South third-grade students visited fourth-grade students in Mrs. Chandler’s class at Aspen Elementary. The students got to know each other by playing games such as Bingo and Hedbanz. They also decorated frames. The Nora Project aims to normalize difference, demystify disability, and promote meaningful connections between students and their peers with disabilities. This is the first time that Aspen is participating in the program.